Today, the trend has been for motor vehicles to include a number of audio sources that share components of the motor vehicle audio subsystem. For example, in certain models manufacturers have incorporated the ability for certain automotive subsystems to provide an audible message to an occupant of the motor vehicle through the audio subsystem, as the need arises. In motor vehicles that have this capability, an audio source can be interrupted for a period of time that corresponds to the length of the message. When the interrupted audio source is internal to the vehicle, for example, a music compact disk (CD), the playing of the CD is resumed upon completion of the message, without loss of content. That is, the CD resumes play such that no music is omitted.
However, when the audio source is external to the vehicle, such as broadcast radio, transitory audio information (e.g., an event in a football game) can be missed. This has resulted in measurable customer dissatisfaction when a message interrupts transitory audio information of interest to the customer. While certain television (TV) systems have included the ability to capture a portion of a TV broadcast for replay and other CD systems have implemented electronic skip protection, no known systems have provided transitory audio information that can be interrupted by a message from, for example, an automotive subsystem without noticeable loss of content.
As such, it is desirable for an audio subsystem to provide transitory audio information that is subject to interruption without noticeable loss of content.